Firework Finale
by Deathwhisperer
Summary: The squad carries a little girl's hopes and dreams as they assault the Alien Capital Ship. One shot.


**I know the conversations are mostly made up, but what the hell. Have fun!**

* * *

The psychic pool thingy was finished. From there, a psi-capable volunteer can access the Overseer network and find out what the aliens intend to do.

"He volunteers." Jacob Larson pushed Caleb forward.

"Hey!" Caleb said, but to no avail. He Jacob be the guinea pig for the experiment.

He stepped through the tranquil pool waters and ascended towards the purple alien relic. Arms extended, he joined the aliens' psi network, becoming one with many.

Images flashed before his eyes. The aliens' leader species; a rotting, banished group of exiles who wishes to find the ultimate species who are both physically and mentally capable of utilizing the Gift. Their species are mentally powerful, but physically weak. They wish to use humans to ascend to what is Beyond; what is Beyond was not explained.

Caleb saw it; a great ship above the Atlantic ocean, vastly superior in size to any of the previous ships they have shot down. An entity lies within, the most powerful enemy they Jacob ever face.

He relayed the information to Mission Control.

"This is it. No more going back." No more alien tech to research, no new soldiers to be hired, no more raids to stop.

This ends today.

* * *

The team assembled that night. The Larson brothers; Jacob the assault specialist, James the sniper. Sylvia "Missionary" Janson came next. She had saved Tony, Jacob and Hannah from bleeding out in the battlefield, and healed every member of the XCOM battalion multiple times. Tony "Fluffybutt" Gecko came next, carrying three massive disposable rocket launchers; shredder and explosive warheads. Nathan's clone, replacement of the long dead original, arrived afterwards. He carries a plasma rifle with pride. Caleb came last, sporting an alloy burst cannon. He and Jacob are tied with the kill count, having killed over two hundred aliens in the past thirty three missions.

The other thirty members of the XCOM squad saluted the six as they boarded the Skyhawk. They Jacob be risking their lives for the sake of the world.

The bay doors closed and the platform ascended, carrying the Skyhawk up and out of underground XCOM facility.

"Think they'll make it back?" Dr. Katherine, head of the research team, asked Dr. Chen. The old engineer didn't reply; instead, he responded with a tight-lipped smile, an expression that rarely graces his haggard face.

* * *

They landed on the ship without trouble. There were no outer defenses, no alien fighter jets to deter their progress. They rappelled down the ship's hangars with ease. Too much ease.

The squad wore various armors reflecting their specialty; Caleb and Tony are Gifted, and wears Psi-armor as a proof. The Larson twins boasts Ghost Armors, which can temporarily turn them invisible until the energy runs out. Sylvia and Nathan wears Titan armor, impervious to poison and fire. They carry reverse-engineered weapons of incredible power.

They were the best mankind could afford.

As they silently move around the ship, the ship seemed less like a ship and more like floating city.

Caleb hears the Entity he saw in the psychic-pool talk to him.

They moved, barreling through the alien capital ship with ease. They met every species in the alien hierarchy along the way. The entity spoke of their origins; how they experimented on various alien species only to find them incapable of the Gift. They were ultimately used for cannon fodder; disposable, inferior beings. Caleb projects the Entity's narration to his teammates minds.

The closer they are to the bridge, the harder the battle became. The most difficult enemy they encountered were two hulking Sectopods, towering metal behemoths, seemingly impervious to damage. They would have killed Nathan if not for Sylvia's timely intervention. She was heavily injured as a result. The rest of the team launched a volley of shredder rockets, plasma anti-material bolts and alloy shards, taking down the Sectopods before they could killed anyone.

And then they arrived.

The energy gate to the bridge.

The team took a pause to reload and heal their wounds. They gathered near the bridge doors. Jacob burst through, shotgun raised.

An entity garbed in mystic robes was manipulating the Orb, similar to the one they stole and kept at their facility. It turned around and projected its thoughts.

"Welcome, little earthlings. Welcome to your end."

Two more Ethereals appeared, flanking their leader. Two Royal Guards, the best of their fighting force, descended from the Orb steps, carrying heavy plasma cannons.

"We have allowed you to win your battles. We knew you would learn from us. Take our technology and make it your own. It was a costly bet, but a bet we won nonetheless. You are capable of utilizing the Gift and, unlike us, you are physically robust. We admit, we are weak. But we Jacob force you to carry us – unto the great beyond. It is your DESTINY!"

The Uber Ethereal howls and everyone bursts into action.

Caleb used his mind control powers to use one of the Royal Guards against the Ethereals. The Ethereals expended their first salvo over psi-energy barrages to destroy their own guard.

Nathan and James fired at the second Ethereal, but that one was especially gifted in psi-shielding. The Ethereal deflected both shots to their source, hurting both soldiers.

Jacob flanked the Ethereals to the right, utilizing his Ghost armor's invisibility mode to temporarily disappear. He reappears to slay the third ethereal, shredding the alien lord with superheated alloy shards.

Caleb creates a deadly vortex of psi-energy among the enemy, causing heavy damage to the remaining Royal Guard, but the Ethereals barely felt a scratch – their mental powers were too great. The second Ethereal took control of James's mind. He shot Tony in the back. Tony fled for cover, armor partially melting from the plasma.

"You Jacob BOW BEFORE US!" The Uber Ethereal declare. It reached towards Caleb's mind. He shifted his gun towards a shocked Sylvia beside him. The medic was paralyzed, her healer instincts preventing her from shooting her own squadmate. Caleb fired – and the world turned upside down.

Sylvia lies face up, staring at the ceiling, incapable of healing herself. She was out of medkits; no one else in the squad could administer any, and besides, she was tired, so tired…

Her eyes closed. The renowned savior Medic could not save herself.

Furious, Jacob emerged from his invisibility mode and fired his alloy cannon at the Uber Ethereal. It dodged the first hit, but was wounded by the second. He was out in the open now; no cover, armor almost depleted, no medic to save him should he fall. Tony fired his last rocket warhead, but it won't be enough. The Ethereals were too strong.

Time slowed.

Only one person is left to do anything.

Nathan.

In any other mission the squad would be completely screwed, but this time, Nathan's going to risk it. Every fibre of his being screamed that he would die, but he had to divert the focus away from Jacob, who had nothing to protect him. Nathan rushed right in front of the second Ethereal, violently injecting combat stimulants into his axilla, and fired. The Ethereal's shields were expended, but he survived the attack.

Then comes the enemy response. Both surviving Ethereals launched unspeakably powerful psi-blasts, rupturing Nathan's armor. James shot him in the back, twice. At that point, the only thing keeping him standing was the battle stimulants coursing through his system.

Nathan rushed towards the Uber Ethereal and fired.

The Ethereal screeched in pain as the plasma incinerated his head and fell to the ground, dead. The second one followed immediately after; his mind link with the Uber spelling his doom, and with his death, James was freed.

"I did good, guys." Nathan said. He died standing, his defunct armor keeping him upright.

 _If we can't win, you shan't as well._ The Uber's promise of vengeance whispered in the air.

The Orb throne pulsed. The capital ship shook.

Caleb, the psychic volunteer, rushed to take control of whatever was going on. He held the orb and an influx of information filled his mind.

The ship is carrying a Singularity bomb, which the Uber had set off. Left unchecked it Jacob soon create an artificial blackhole.

"CALEB! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE HAVE TO GET BACK TO THE SKYHAWK!" Tony shouted.

Without a word, Caleb telekinetically shoved Tony, Jacob and James out of the bridge and sealed the doors. He ignored the banging and shouting, concentrating on the task at hand. He had too stabilize the bomb; else it Jacob destroy everything and everyone. Caleb launched capital ship towards space, but there was no time.

The Skyhawk left the capital ship right before it left the atmosphere.

"We waited as long as we could." Jacob comforted a distraught Tony.

He thought he could leave on one of the ship's escape pods and make it back to earth before the Singularity materializes, but he can feel that it was not to be. The Orb is destabilizing; at the distance of only a few hundred kilometers, the upcoming black hole Jacob warp the earth to shred in the fraction of a second.

Eyes flashing purple, Caleb took control over the engine reactors and forced them to overload-

Mom and dad are scared. Annie knew it. They never said it outright, but she could tell. The way they moved, how they speak in hushed whispers behind closed doors.

It's the aliens. It's always the aliens. It's all everybody talks about these days. Aliens here, aliens there.

She knew they were bad. She wishes they'd go away, because now she can't meet her friends anymore. Annie never thought she'd miss going to school, but she-

Her bedroom door creaked open. "Come on, Annie, let's go." Her mother beckoned for her to come. The six year old obeyed.

They had to go to the grocery store today, and her parents are too scared to leave her alone at home, so she's coming too. When the curfew began dad bought loads and loads of food and water. He had a burple on his arm, like the one Annie got when she fought with evil girl Katie, who tried to take her donut. Blue and purple. Did daddy get in a fight at the grocery store? The burple hurts, Annie knew. So she tried not to throw any more temper tantrums, a valiant effort that lasted two days.

But now the water's gone. They can't drink from tap anymore. A ship crashed at the water treatment plant several miles away. Annie was sleeping when that happened. She woke up to a huge BOOM, and mommy came to comfort her for the rest of the night.

"The military's got lorries filled with fresh water downtown." Dad announced that morning. "We're going at one, okay honey?"

Annie followed her parents past their car. It's empty now; they used the gasoline to cook dinner for a few nights when the lights went out.

Dad tried to carry her all the way, but Annie could tell he was getting tired. She tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to set her down.

The walk lasted another hour and a half. Her feet hurt, her arms hurt, and her head hurts. The noonday sun burnt her skin.

When they arrived, Annie knew something was wrong. There were no lines, and the lorries were leaving one by one.

"We're too late." Mommy said. Dad swore under his breath, and tries to charge through the crowds.

"They're out of water!? That's a load of bull right there!" a mean-looking businessman shouted.

"My children can't drink canned food! You have to give them some water!" a mother demanded, holding her two sons to her tightly.

"You military guys' got water rations, right? Stop being greedy SOBs and give us some!" a thug screeched.

The hysteria reached its climax when one of the protesters tried to get inside one of the supply lorries. He was clubbed down by the police, and an enraged crowd rushed in after.

 _Fighting broke out, and daddy's in the middle of it!_

"Daddy, no!" Annie broke away from her distressed mother and ran towards the mass of bodies-

Her world became white for a split second.

An indescribable brilliance flashed in the sky. It filled Annie's world as far as the eye can see.

 **A second sun.**

The fighting stopped as everyone stared in wonder.

Annie saw fireworks before, at the town fair. They were loud, pretty and colorful.

But this explosion ignited the sky, spreading across the breadth of the horizon in lemon and crimson hues. Hundreds of thousands of meteoroids burnt up in the atmosphere, like countless falling stars. The second sun glowed once more before fading to a soft orange hue.

And she somehow knew, everything Jacob be alright.

* * *

For whoever follows my other stories, I'm sorry. This was a fun thing I did with friends, whose names I changed here. I may or may not finish other stories. For normal readers, I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
